Probably also fuels the prominance of the Super Bowl over the World Series, too. The baseball season is so long that by the end, even the most diehard fans are ready for a break, except for say the teams actually in the World Series. Football, the maximum number of games your team can possibly play is 20. There's still a desire for football, even after your team is out.

I think you've touched on why football has overtaken baseball as the most popular sport in the U.S. Being a devoted baseball fan is hard. It takes a major time commitment -- games every day. Football is essentially a one day a week commitment. It's a lot easier to carve out 3 hours on a Sunday to watch the Bears than 3 hours every day to watch the Sox. With so many entertainment options available, many people simply aren't willing to (or don't have the time to) make the commitment.

Same logic holds true for the Super Bowl vs. the World Series. Just my opinion. Baseball is a great game (I think the greatest), but it's not for everyone. A best of seven series will never be as compelling to the casual fan as a one-game winner take all event.